Lamington National Park is described in the Scenic Rim Regional Council’s 2026 visitor guide as loved for extensive walking tracks, tours and experiences, and outstanding ecological value as part of the World Heritage listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. The guide says the park has two sections, Binna Burra and Green Mountains. This guide draws on council, State Library and operator pages. Queensland Parks and UNESCO pages returned access errors when checked on 9 November 2026, so it makes no claims about current track grades, closures, fees or camping rules. Check the Queensland Parks track alerts before you go.
Two sections, one park
The council guide describes the Green Mountains section as just 15 minutes south of Beaudesert in Kerry. A council page describes Beechmont, a small village between the Lamington Plateau and Tamborine Mountain, as a popular destination for bushwalkers who travel through it to reach the Binna Burra section.
The guide lists Richmond birdwing butterflies, pademelons, eastern water dragons and diverse birdlife among the animals the park is home to. It describes the park as an important instrument in the protection of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area. O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, a commercial operator, says the park was inscribed as part of that World Heritage Area in 1994; that is the operator’s statement and was not checked against UNESCO.
How the park began
The State Library of Queensland says Lamington National Park was established on 31 July 1915. It describes Romeo Watkins Lahey (1887-1968) as an engineer, timber merchant and national parks advocate, and, in a summary of the post that we could not read directly, says his lecturing and gathering of signatures helped persuade the Queensland Government to act for the park’s creation. The council guide says Binna Burra Lodge’s founders, Arthur Groom and Romeo Lahey, were instrumental in the founding of the park. It also says Binna Burra was once a prolific timber hub of the 1800s and is now a destination for nature lovers and bushwalkers.
The Green Mountains side has its own story, told here from the operator’s account. O’Reilly’s says eight O’Reilly men arrived on what was then Green Mountains in 1911, and that the family built the Stockyard Creek Track down to the Kerry Valley in 1914. It says the park was officially proclaimed the following year. Tom O’Reilly began building the original Guesthouse in 1925, and the first paying guests arrived at Easter 1926. A road from Canungra reached the edge of the park in 1935. In 1937 a Stinson airliner travelling between Brisbane and Sydney disappeared in severe weather, and Bernard O’Reilly found the wreckage and two survivors who had spent ten days beside the aircraft. The Tree Top Walk was completed in 1987. The council guide’s wording is that the O’Reilly family helped pioneer ecotourism in Australia, which is promotional language.
Walks in the Green Mountains section
The council guide gives two walks in this section. The Birnam Brook Circuit is 1 km, takes 30 to 40 minutes and is rated grade 1. The Box Forest Circuit is 10.9 km, takes about 4 hours and is rated grade 4, passing Darragumai Falls, Tullerigumai Falls and Elabana Falls. The guide also names Elabana, Yarrabilgong, Coomera and Morans Falls as waterfalls in the park. These are the guide’s descriptions at 9 November 2026, not park-authority track data.
Walks from Binna Burra
Binna Burra Lodge is a commercial operator, so treat its track notes as operator information. At 9 November 2026 its walking tracks page describes the Border Track as the backbone of the Lamington walking track system, with most walks branching from it. In the same entry, describing a transfer from Binna Burra to the Green Mountains section, it refers to walking “the 21.4km track back to Binna Burra”. The page says the track forms part of the longer Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk and mentions a short, steep side track, 600 m return, to the Beereenbano and Merino lookouts. The lodge says there is no quicker way to walk it from either trailhead, and advises starting early and arranging pickup at the destination or planning to stay overnight.
To reach the Rainforest Circuit, the lodge says to follow the Border Track for 500 m and turn right. It says the Tullawallal Circuit reaches a patch of Antarctic beech, Nothofagus moorei, at the summit, and that this is the northernmost occurrence of the species in Australia. The Mount Hobwee Circuit climbs to an Antarctic beech-clad summit at 1164 m. The Araucaria Lookout is named after the hoop pines that grow there.
The Gwongoorool Track descends around 200 steep rock steps to the Coomera River. The Illinbah Circuit’s river crossings follow the old Cedar Road that timber-getters used in the early 1900s.
River and weather caution
The Coomera Circuit begins 1.9 km from the Binna Burra trailhead, branching off the Border Track, and reaches the Coomera Falls lookout after 5.5 km, above a 160 m deep gorge. On this circuit the lodge page says there are several river crossings stepping rock to rock, that the circuit can be hazardous after heavy rain, and that it should not be attempted when the river is in flood.
Country
The Scenic Rim visitor guide’s Acknowledgement of Country says: “We acknowledge the traditional country of the Mununjali, Wangerriburra, Migunberri and Ugarapul Peoples of the Scenic Rim.” That is the guide’s wording about the Scenic Rim region; it is not a statement specific to this park.
Frequently asked questions
What are the two sections of Lamington National Park?
The Scenic Rim visitor guide names Binna Burra and Green Mountains.
When was Lamington National Park established?
The State Library of Queensland says 31 July 1915; O’Reilly’s says it was officially proclaimed in 1915.
How long is the walk back from Green Mountains to Binna Burra?
Binna Burra Lodge’s Border Track entry refers to walking “the 21.4km track back to Binna Burra” in a transfer blurb; confirm with Queensland Parks.
Is the Coomera Circuit safe after rain?
The lodge page says it can be hazardous after heavy rain and should not be attempted when the river is in flood.
